Saturday, October 27, 2007

Monday, October 22, 2007

Completed the Nike Women's Half Marathon yesterday in 2:23:59. I was quite happy with the time as Amy and I have been running at an 11min/mile pace during our training. Our actual pace from yesterday was 10:59/mile, wow, we sure timed ourselves pretty well.

The race was a lot of fun. On Saturday, when we had to go to Union Square to pick up our bib and timing chip, there was a whole party going on. There were booths for manicure, foot massages, whole body massages etc... The wait for each one is approximately 30 minutes, so we just picked to get a manicure.

Yesterday, we were in the city bright and early around 6:30ish. I must say, it's very different to be walking around the city when all the shops were still closed, but there were these 20000 runners congregating around Union Square, and with loud music playing and runners cheering, I felt a bit bad for the people staying at the Westin . I looked up, and for a lot of the rooms, the lights were already turned on.

The weather was mild, and I didn't even need my sweatshirt anymore by mile 2. The course was very scenic, which was a good thing, because it certainly made the run much shorter. We started at Union Square, and then cut through the financial district, and then ran on the Embacadero along the bay. So we got to go pass Fisherman's Wharf, Ghiradhelli Square, and Fort Mason. It was such a clear day that the view of Golden Gate Bridge was simply amazing. Then, we started running uphill at the Presidio, that at one point, when we looked back, we could see skyline of the city. The view from the Cliff House was also very breathtaking, with the waves in the ocean. After that, we ran through Golden Gate Park and finished at the Great Highway.

The best part of the race was when we passed the finish line, there were these men dressed in Tuxedo giving out the Tiffany necklaces :) (One big reward at the end that motivated us to sign up for this race initially, hehe. )